Harry Potter and the Cerberus
by Artimus Knyght
Summary: What if Harry was met by another family at Kings Cross. Rated for possible coarse language. Further stories in this series will see the rating rise.
1. Finding the Platform

I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters created by JK. I do own Artimus Lovegood, though if you're nice, I might let you borrow him.

**Finding the Platform**

Harry Potter was in trouble. He had no idea how to get to platform 9 ¾. According to his uncle it didn't exist and there was a lot of evidence to support his uncle's argument. He looked at the big clock in the station that said 10:30. He had half an hour to find the platform. He was standing near platforms 9 and 10 because the logical part of his mind told him that they were the closest numbers to 9 ¾, but he knew he couldn't just stand there all day. Hedwig was starting to attract the wrong kind of attention. He'd have to ask someone.

Before he could head off to find someone to ask, Hedwig suddenly attracted the right kind of attention. A boy about his age with short, dirty blonde hair and silvery blue eyes came running up to his cart and gazed at his owl.

"Wow." He murmured before spinning around. "Luna! Luna over here! You gotta see this! And bring dad!" He yelled. Moments later a small girl, maybe a year or two younger than the boy came skipping out of the masses towards them. She too had silvery blue eyes and dirty blonde hair, although hers was down to the middle of her back. Behind her was a man wearing the brightest yellow suit Harry had ever seen. He was pushing a cart with a trunk and covered cage and basket on it just like Harry. He also had blonde hair, but it was pale blonde and his eyes were a dark blue, but he was obviously the kids' father.

The little blonde girl, or Luna, had reached them and her brother was telling her about his owl.

"It's a Nyctea Scandiaca, also known as a Bubo Scandiacus, more widely known as the Snowy Owl, Great White Owl, Ghost Owl, Scandinavian Nightbird and the White Terror of the North. This owl is virtually silent during nonbreeding seasons. The typical call of the male is a loud, harsh, grating bark, but this is a female which has a similar, but higher pitched call, also the females rarely hoot. Other sounds the owls make are Dog-like barks, rattling cackles, shrieks, hissing, and bill-snapping. They can live nearly 10 years in the wild and around 35 in captivity. They're also somewhat rare in Britain. Usually they stick to arctic tundra, like Scandinavia, Canada or the north of the united states." The boy looked at him. "You're lucky to have one. What's her name?" He asked.

"Hedwig. And thanks, a friend got her for me as a birthday present." He was nervous. These people looked like wizards and if they were they could help him, but they could just be really eccentric.

The boy glanced at his father before turning back to him. Luna seemed happy to just coo at Hedwig who loved the attention.

"An unusual present for an unusual boy?" the boy asked mysteriously. "I wonder, could you be looking for anything unusual here today?"

"Like a platform that shouldn't exist?" Harry was weary, but as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. He relaxed when the boy grinned at him.

"So they forgot to tell you how to get on to the platform. Odd, but not unheard of. I'd imagine the professor that came to get you was busy or had something on their mind. Follow us. It's my first year too." He dragged Harry over to the ticket barrier between platforms 9 and 10. "Now see the wall there?" Harry nodded. "Good. Line up your cart, take a deep breath, stay calm and run at the wall and don't stop." Harry looked at him like he was crazy. "Don't look at me like I'm crazy! It's a magical illusion, so that the muggles don't see. Now run and don't stop until you're on the other side. Oh, but remember to move out of the way otherwise I might crash into you."

Harry looked back at the wall and braced himself. He took a deep breath and ran forward, pushing his cart in front of him. He expected to crash into the wall, but one minute it was there, and the next it was gone. He was through it and on platform 9 ¾. Remembering what the boy told him he quickly moved to the side just as he came whizzing through after him. Soon they were joined by Luna and the father.

"There you go, and that's the Hogwarts Express." Harry turned to see the scarlet steam engine that was waiting next to the packed platform. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. Harry looked behind them and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words _platform 9 ¾_ on it. He turned back to the platform as the blonde family started to walk away. After a few steps the boy stopped and turned around. "Well," he said, "Are you coming or not?"

Harry hurried forward and followed them towards the end of the train. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. They passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again." "Oh, Neville," they heard the old woman sigh. A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. "Give us a look, Lee, go on." The boy lifted the lid of the box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

When they finally reached an empty compartment the father helped both boys with their trunks and other things before they got off for the boy to say his goodbyes.

"You know what?" he asked. "I never introduced myself or my family. I'm Artimus Lovegood, this is my father Xenophilius and this is my little sister Luna. She'll be coming to Hogwarts next year."

"Harry Potter." He said. He grew worried when they froze. He half expected them to start asking for his autograph. He was worried they'd treat him differently because he was the Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. He was shocked by they're reaction.

"Really?" Artimus whispered. "You're really Harry?" They were acting like they knew him.

"Do you know me?" he asked timidly.

"Of course we know you my dear boy," Xenophilius said finally entering the conversation, "Your mother was good friends with my late wife."

"Not to mention," Artimus interrupted, "We share a Godfather, but I'll explain that on the train." Xenophilius checked the wall clock that now said 10:45.

"Well boys, Luna and I must be off, I need to be in my office working on this month's issue. Nice meeting you again Harry. Goodbye Artimus, I'll see you at Christmas." Xeno hugged his son and stepped back to allow Luna to say goodbye.

Luna hugged her brother tightly and silently cried. "I don't want you to go." She whimpered. Artimus hugged her back just as tightly. "It's not forever little moon," He whispered, "Just until Christmas, I'll be back before you know it." Harry turned away to wipe his own tears from his eyes. This was what he wanted. A family to love him and to miss him. A sister to hug him, a brother who looked up to him, a father to be proud of him, a mother to kiss him good night. A real family, not like the Dursleys, they were a cruel mockery of what a family should be. He wiped away the last of his tears and turned back.

Artimus pulled away from his sister and held her at arms length.

"Now little moon, you know that if you're missing me a little too much then just use your mirror. I will always have mine on me, but try not to call during lesson times." She laughed a little which was what he was going for. "You'll be fine, and Ginny will be home as well so you won't be all alone. Now I've gotta go and you've gotta go, and remember to remind dad to eat occasionally, you know what he's like." Luna now had a small smile on her face while Artimus was grinning at her.

"Ok Artimus, see you at Christmas. Bye Harry." Xeno took Luna's hand and led her back up the platform while she waved back at them. They waved too until they could no longer see her due to the smoke.

Artimus turned to him and smiled. "We'd better get on the train before people start recognising you. They'd mob you." They both chuckled as Artimus led the way onto the train and into their compartment. Harry sat down, leaned back and relaxed. He was on the train. He'd made it. He was going to Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>One thing that always irked me was that Luna had no one who really looked out for her and no one to stop the bullies. Now she does. I got the information about Hedwig from a website called owlpages. There are a couple of lines from the actual book in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it. I will hopefully update soon. I am working on my other stories and I will hopefully update them soon as well. Please review. P.S. Artimus can be a boys name, for those of you wondering.<p> 


	2. The Journey North

I do not own Harry Potter. Now that's done, please enjoy this chapter.

**The Journey North**

They had been sitting in silence for ten minutes, just relaxing, when Artimus suddenly sat forward, a mixture of excitement and trepidation on his face. Harry followed his gaze out of the window and saw a family of red heads heading their way. Four boys, a girl and their mother. As they watched the family, the oldest boy, already in his school robes, hugged his mother and headed off towards the front of the train. Two of the boys were obviously identical twins. They gave their mother a quick hug before hurrying off towards the boy with the dreadlocks. This left the youngest boy and the girl with their mother. They watched her trying to get something off his nose using a handkerchief while the girl looked close to tears.

Harry turned back to Artimus as Artimus looked at him.

"Do you know them?" He asked. Artimus glanced back out the window before nodding.

"Yes, that's the Weasleys and they're my neighbours. See the youngest boy there?" He pointed out the window. Harry looked briefly before nodding. "That's Ron. He's starting this year too. He has a massive inferiority complex due to having five older brothers. He's greedy, jealous and has no regard for other people's feelings. He calls my sister Loony and bullies her because she's a little different. He also hates his twin brothers, but he will never admit it.

The girl is Ginny and she's Luna's closest friend. She also has a major crush on you, or rather, on the Boy-Who-Lived. She seems to think you and her are going to end up married. An idea her mother encourages even though she shouldn't. I guess she's trying to teach Ginny that she can have and do anything as long as she puts her mind to it. I have no problem with the lesson. It's the way she chooses to teach it that's the problem.

The oldest is Percy and he's a bit of a prat. Ok he's a lot of a prat. He's been made a prefect and he hasn't stopped going on about it since he got the badge.

Now the twins are my closest friends besides my sis. They are great guys, who love their little sister and admire their eldest brothers Bill and Charlie, they've both left Hogwarts. Ron hates them because their popular, smart and because he thinks they're trying to make his life hell. He does that all by himself."

"Why does he think that?" Harry thought it couldn't be that bad.

"Well I guess it started when Ron was three." He paused to think. "Yes, Ron was three. He took Fred's toy broomstick and accidentally broke it. Well, Fred was only five. How do you tell a five year old that it was an accident? The Weasleys are a poor family and a five year old hardly knows about magic let alone a repairing charm. Fred saw his broken toy and threw a tantrum. He accidentally turned Ron's stuffed teddy bear into a living spider … while Ron was holding it. Ron's been afraid of spiders ever since. He still believes Fred did it on purpose.

Then there was the unbreakable vow incident, but I guess that one was my fault. I was looking through my parents' library and found a reference to the vow, but I didn't understand, I was eight, the twins were ten. When I next visited the Burrow, that's their house, I asked the twins about it. I gave them the general overview to see if they understood it better than I did, but they didn't. After I left they decided to learn by doing, they learnt better that way. They were planning for when I next went over, but Ron overheard them and wanted in on it. They wanted him to be the binder, but he wanted to be right in the middle of it. Stubborn idiot. George grabbed their father's wand and Fred grabbed Ron's hand.

But Mr Weasley realised his wand was missing and went to the twins room. He found them about to do the vow. He yelled at them about what they were about to do. Ron, scared about getting in trouble and believing he'd been tricked into the position, told his father they tricked him. Now, the twins are pranksters and have always enjoyed a good laugh. Who was Mr Weasley going to believe? He punished the twins harshly for 'trying to purposely trap and hurt their brother.' I remember Ron laughing about their punishment when their parents weren't around." Artimus shook his head while Harry sat there shocked. Harry shook his own head.

"You know maybe I should introduce that boy to my cousin Dudley and that Malfoy kid. I think they would all get along famously." Harry mumbled.

"Oh so you've met my cousin Drakey." Artimus said with false enthusiasm.

"He's your cousin?" Exclaimed Harry.

"Yup. My mother was his fathers little sister." He looked sad and Harry realised his use of past tense. Then he remembered Artimus' father say that his, Harry's, mother had been a friend of his 'late' wife. Harry felt guilty. He'd felt sorry for himself his whole life because his parents were dead. He had never even thought that he wasn't the only one to lose a parent. Even in the last month he didn't think about how Voldemort could've orphaned other kids, either directly or indirectly. What he thought about was how Voldemort had killed his parents.

His thoughts were interrupted when the train whistle blew. They felt the train jerk as it started its journey north. Harry watched as parents waved goodbye to their children, little kids waved to their older siblings and a little girl ran along side the train until she could no longer keep up. He looked back at Artimus, who still looked a little sad, so he tried to cheer him up.

"So what's your sister like?" It seemed to work as a smile grew on Artimus' face.

"She's brilliant. She's funny if you can decipher her humour. She's smart and caring. Brave enough to speak her mind, which is more than some people can do. She's wise beyond her years. She's blunt, she'll tell you something straight up, not beat around the bush with it. She's creative and artistic. She's just like our mum." The smile sagged a little as his thoughts returned to his mother.

"When did she pass?" Harry asked. Better to find out now than unknowingly insult him later by accident by saying something without thinking. Artimus looked up at him looking a little surprised, as if he hadn't expected Harry to even care, let alone ask about his mother.

"A little over a year ago." He paused and took a deep breath. "You see my mum liked to create spells and one went wrong. So terribly wrong …

* * *

><p>Artimus walked into his mums lab just as Luna was about to leave.<p>

"Hey mum." He greeted. "Luna, are you ready to go to the Weasleys?" Luna nodded and hugged their mum. "Bye mummy. See you at dinner." She whispered.

"Bye Luna. Artimus, take care of your sister." She always tried to sound firm, but the smile always ruined it.

"Ok mum." He gave her a quick hug and then walked towards the door with Luna. They were almost there when they heard a crack and their mother gasp. Spinning around they watched as their mother's wand exploded. As she was in the middle of an experimental spell, it dragged her magical core with it into the explosion. The magical backlash knocked him and his sister into the wall behind them with force.

When he managed to focus himself he made his way after his sister towards their mother. She was in bad shape. Her wand hand was burnt and there was blood around her. Her breathing was ragged and she had trouble focusing her eyes on them. They watched as she closed her eyes and breathed her last. He pulled his sister into a hug, even though it hurt, and rocked her gently as they both cried for they're mother.

* * *

><p>… We sat there for two hours before Mrs Weasley grew worried and came to find us. Our father had been on an expedition, but came home immediately when he heard what happened. We had to stay in St Mungos for a while for our injuries and for therapy. I had a couple of cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a sprained ankle, but Luna had a broken collarbone, cracked ribs, a broken arm and a shattered ankle. It took a couple of days to heal. Thankfully we were out in time for her funeral. We still had to have therapy though." There were tears running down Artimus' face when he finished and Harry purposely looked away so he could discreetly wipe them away. Harry didn't know what to say so he settled for sorry.<p>

"Don't be." Artimus said while shaking his head. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't kill her. It was just a freak accident."

"No. I meant I'm sorry for bringing it up." But Artimus was once again shaking his head. "You didn't make me tell you, I did that of my own free will."

Harry glanced around the compartment looking for a new topic and spotted the cage and the basket, both of which were still covered. "Hey, how come you've got two pets?" Artimus looked at the cage and basket before looking at Harry and smirking. "Because I know people."

"Or rather my family does." He said as he stood up to get the cage. "My grandmother on my mother's side was Annalise Greengrass. She was in Ravenclaw while in school and best friends with two Gryffindors, Augusta Smith and Minerva McGonagall. Both women are like great aunts to me and Luna. Aunt Minnie may be strict, but she will give us treats, as long as we behave and earn them. This is one of those treats. As deputy headmistress she has the power to bend some, if not all, of the rules, to a degree of course." He pulled the cover off the cage to reveal something Harry had not expected.

"A raven!" He said.

"Yup. Her name is Morrigan. Luna has one too. His name is Midnight." He explained as he poked some treats into the cage for her. He then covered her back up and put the cage back on the luggage rack, before picking up the basket and uncovering the sleeping animal within. Harry saw the biggest cat he had ever seen.

"He's a Savannah cat, biggest breed in the world. I've had him since I was nine. His name is Merlin. Luna has a Bengal Cat, not quite as big, but still bigger than the average cat. Hers is named Morgana, as in Morgan La Fey. The enemy of Merlin." He chuckled as he covered him back up and put the basket back on the seat.

He sat back down and sighed. "Aunt Minnie was able to grant me permission to bring two pets and she'll do the same next year for Luna. She's a little more lenient than she should be, probably because she has no family of her own. The love of her life died in the war with Grindelwald, the dark wizard before Voldemort …

"Wait," Harry interrupted, "You said his name. I thought people didn't do that."

Artimus snorted. "There's no reason to fear the name of a coward who used unblockable, unforgivable curses to control, torture and kill the people who stood against him. He even used them on his own followers and the bigoted idiots still followed him. Anyway, Aunt Minnie never got over losing her love. She visits when she can, more so now mums gone. Aunt Augusta visits too, but not as often. She has family of her own to take care of. I know her grandson, but not well. He'll be starting this year as well, his name's Neville."

"How did your mum know mine?" Harry craved any information about his Parents.

"My mum was in Ravenclaw, yours was in Gryffindor. My mum was ignored, feared or hated by most of the school because she was a Malfoy. The Pureblood bigots ignored her because she didn't agree with their views. The Pureblood blood traitors and the Halfbloods hated her because she was from a dark family. And the muggle born and raised feared her for the same reason. Only two people were friends with her, your mother and Hufflepuff Amelia Bones. She visits every now and again too and she brings her niece Susan, that's another who'll be starting this year as well.

For her first four years they were the only friends she had. The only ones who got to know her and found out she was a nice girl. She was bullied, ignored or unnoticed by everyone else. That changed in their fifth year. That's when your father and his friends began to grow up and notice the people around them, which included my mum. Though my mum told me that it wasn't until seventh year that your father grew up enough that your mother would date him." Artimus snickered. "It was one of your father's friends who took an interest in my mum, and no, not like that. Your father best friend was Sirius Black and he saw a kindred spirit in my mum. He too was from a dark family, but in a different house from said family. He too had to deal with people being suspicious of him, but they didn't openly bother him since he was best friends with a Potter. He become like a big brother to my mum, so much so that she asked him to be my Godfather and he accepted. Their other friend Remus Lupin is Luna's. Amelia's her Godmother, while your mother was mine and my mother yours. Sirius Black is also your Godfather."

Harry sat there in stunned silence. He had a Godfather. He remembered it being mentioned on the platform, but everything had happened so fast and he'd been so glad to actually make it onto the platform, well, it had gone over his head. But now he was processing the information. He had a Godfather. Where was he? Why had he never come for him? Did he not care? Or did he not know where Harry was? After all, he had just been left on his aunt's doorstep. He looked at Artimus who smiled sadly.

"I know what you're thinking. He did care, he did love us both. All of us in fact. Sirius couldn't look after you, and still can't, because he's in Azkaban, the wizards prison."

"What's he doing there?" Artimus ignored the urge to answer with a sarcastic 'to work on his tan' and instead concentrated on giving Harry as much information as he knew.

"The official reason is for the betrayal of the Potters and the murder of twelve muggles and your father's third friend, Peter Pettigrew." He could see anger on Harry's face and carried on, before Harry could explode. "But I think they're wrong. So does Luna and dad. So did mum. She knew Sirius and swore he wouldn't do such a thing, but no one would listen to her. They all believed the miniscule evidence that they had been shown, ignoring his past completely. Sirius was sent to Azkaban without a trial when even Bellatrix Lestrange got one, and she was the worst Death Eater, one of Voldemort's followers." He added when he saw the confused look on Harry's face. "I think it was purposely blocked by someone with a secret agenda. Don't know who, though I would bet good money that it was my good old uncle.

Another thing is Pettigrew. They say that all they found of him was a finger, but that isn't possible. A body isn't completely disintegrated by an explosion, there would at least be ash left. As a finger was found there should have been bits of Pettigrew all over the street. That says to me that Pettigrew didn't die. I don't know why a supposedly innocent man would fake his death and hide for so long. There is also Sirius' mental state when they found him. He was laughing, that didn't help his case, he was also saying that he killed Lily and James. A betrayer always knows that they didn't kill the people they've betrayed. He would have been saying I betrayed Lily and James. He said killed. He felt responsible for their deaths, but he didn't betray them."

Harry sat stunned, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish. Finally his voice started working again. "How are you so smart?" Artimus chuckled.

"Well, when we were younger, my sister and I wanted to learn. We figured we'd learn all about magic at Hogwarts, so we asked to go to muggle primary school instead. We also take some independent classes at an advanced level such as Psychology, Philosophy, Science, that Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Politics and Media Studies. We want to be journalists when we leave Hogwarts, like our dad." Artimus grinned sheepishly once he'd finished as Harry looked at him with amazement. Harry suddenly looked a little shy. Artimus picked up on this. "What is it Harry?"

Harry mumbled something that Artimus didn't catch. He motioned for Harry to say it louder and Harry sighed.

"It's just, I don't know anything about my parents and I was wondering if you did?" Artimus smiled a little.

"Well, I don't personally remember Uncle James and Aunt Lily, but my mum told me lots of stories about them. Would you like to hear some?" Harry nodded enthusiastically and Artimus laughed. Harry spent the rest of the journey learning about his parents. He laughed more on that train ride than in the last ten years of his life. Their discussion was only interrupted twice, once by an old woman with a sweet cart, Harry and Artimus bought some sweets to share, and the second time by a girl with bushy hair and a chubby boy asking if they'd seen a toad. She introduced herself as Hermione Granger and the boy as Neville Longbottom, the boy Artimus had mentioned earlier.

By the time they reached Hogwarts Harry was determined to be in Gryffindor just like his mum. Don't get him wrong, his dad sounded cool, but Harry wasn't a prankster. He wanted to be brave, strong and confident like his mum. Since entering the magical world, people had said he looked like his father. He wanted to show people that he was Lily's son too. The two boys put on their robes as the Hogwarts Express started to slow down. They smiled at each other and thought the same thing. 'I'm finally here.'

* * *

><p>One thing that peeves me is the whole spider incident. Some people on fanfic seem to think the twins did it on purpose, but Ron was only three, so the twins would only have been five. The thought that a five year old with no wand and no control of his magic purposely turning a stuffed teddy bear into a living, moving spider, is riduikulus. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, I think it's the longest one I've ever done, over three thousand words. Please review. And I hope you enjoyed your Christmas gift from me. Ps I'll try and update sooner, but I can't promise anything, I'm sorry.<p> 


	3. The Sorting

Hey there. Please don't kill me for not writing in so long. Here's chapter 3.

And just so we're clear, I do not own Harry Potter.

**The Sorting**

Harry and Artimus stepped off the train and onto the busy platform. The older students bumped them this way and that as they made their way off the platform. Harry was about to follow when he heard a familiar voice above the crowd.

"Firs' years! Firs' years ova 'ere! This way firs' years!" It was Hagrid. Harry made his way over to the big man with Artimus right behind him. "Ello there 'Arry. 'Ow are you?"

"I'm ok Hagrid. This is Artimus Lovegood. We met at Kings Cross." Hagrid patted Harry on the back and almost sent him flying before turning to face Artimus.

"You're Xeno's boy aren't ya?" Artimus nodded. "Good man 'im. Good man. Well let's get goin' then. Is ev'ry body ere? Righ' then, follow me!"

The first years trooped after him down the dark path. After a few minutes Hagrid announced their first view of Hogwarts. Harry was awestruck and he wasn't alone. The sight alone was beautiful. The spires stretched up into the night sky and the light coming from the windows light up the surrounding area. The wide sweep lawns flowed down and became the black, glassy surface of a giant lake and at the closest edge of the lake were a fleet of rowing boats. Hagrid was already standing before them.

"Righ' then. No more than four to a boat! In ya get!" Harry and Artimus climbed into a boat and were joined by Hermione and Neville. Once everyone was in a boat Hagrid climbed into his own. "All set? Forward!" Hagrid lifted his pink umbrella and pointed it towards the castle. As one the boats moved forward and glided across the lake. As the came to the other side Harry saw that they were heading for a cave and a curtain of ivy. Hagrid told them to duck and soon the boats had stopped. Harry and Artimus stepped out of the boat and turned back to help Hermione and pull Neville out of boat. Hagrid pointed out Neville's toad and they all started up the steps towards the doors. Hagrid knocked and the doors swung open.

In the doorway stood one of the strictest women Harry had ever seen. She wore deep green robes and her hair was in a tight bun. But it was the look in her eyes that told Harry she was strict. She looked at them like a lioness inspects her young. She turned to Hagrid.

"Thank you Hagrid, I can take it from here." Hagrid nodded and went inside. She turned back to the first years. "I am Professor McGonagall. Follow me." They followed her inside and harry leaned into Artimus.

"That's Professor McGonagall, as in…?" Harry trailed off as Artimus nodded.

"Yup, that's Aunt Minnie," he said with a smile, "Don't worry, she's strict, but she cares." They ended up in a room off the side of the huge entrance hall. Professor McGonagall gave a speech about the houses being their families and other stuff before she left. The other first years were muttering nervously about what they would have to do. They could hear Ron Weasley saying that they had to wrestle a troll. Artimus chucked and said Fred under his breath. Hermione was listing off all the spells she may have to use and Draco was complaining about being sorted with the 'rabble'.

There was a scream and they spun around. A number of ghosts had just floated into the room through a wall. A fat monk was arguing with a ghost in ruffles when they noticed the first years. But then the professor returned and they lined up. Then they followed the professor back out of the room, across the entrance hall and through a set of double doors into a hall that put the previous one to shame.

It was big. Bigger that big. Lit by floating candles. There were four long tables and another at the top of the hall. He heard Hermione saying something about an enchanted ceiling and looked up to a magnificent sight. He could see the stars. It was hard to imagine that there was a roof at all.

They reached the front of the hall and Professor McGonagall placed a stool down. On top of the stool was a hat. An old, dusty, ripped and beaten hat. And all of the people in the hall just stared at it. The first years followed suit and stared at the hat, then jumped back when a tear in the hat opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing.

'Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!'

The hall broke out into raptures of applause while the first years sagged in relief. All they had to do was try on a hat. That was easy. Professor McGonagall unfurled a long scroll before turning to the first years.

"When I call your name, step forward and put on the Sorting Hat. Abbott Hannah!" A small blonde girl with her hair in pig tails walked forward and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on her head and slipped over her eyes. After a few seconds the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the girl ran of to the table that was cheering the loudest.

"Bones, Susan!" Another small girl, this one with strawberry blonde hair that cascaded down her back, walked forward and sat on the stool. After another few seconds the hat once more shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" and she went to join Hannah at the Hufflepuff table.

"Boot, Terry!" was next and the Hat shouted "RAVENCLAW!' for him.

Brown, Lavender became the first new Gryffindor and Millicent Bulstrode became the first to join Slytherin. Soon Hermione was called and she practically ran to the seat. Harry recognized the pathological need to show people that she belonged. He had acted much the same way with his relatives when he was younger. He would need to talk to her, as he knew from experience that this path would only cause her more pain in the long run. He could tell she was smart when they met on the train and knew that she would use the classes to show that she belonged, but others wouldn't see it as he did, they would think she was showing off, they would shun her. And all it would take is to 'show off' her knowledge or outshine the wrong person and her school life would quickly become hell. Being smart was all right, but just as he had to, she would need to learn to pick her battles.

The hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" and Hermione hurried off to the sit with her now fellow Gryffindors. Harry continued to watch the sorting. Neville was called up and after a lengthy time the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" again. Harry had noticed that the amount of time the hat spent deciding differed between students. Neville's sorting had taken a while, but when Artimus stepped up the hat was barely on his head when it shouted "RAVENCLAW!" in a slightly bored tone. When Malfoy sat down a similar thing happened. The hat was barely on his head when it practically screamed "SLYTHERIN!" as if it couldn't get off Malfoys head quick enough.

As the sorting continued Harry worried. What if he didn't fit into any house? What if there had been a mistake? What if the hat just sat on his head until the professor yanked it off, told him there'd been a mistake and sent him back to the Dursleys? His worrying was interrupted when he heard "Potter, Harry!"

Suddenly the hall was very quiet. As he walked forward people started to mutter.

"Did she say Potter?"

"The Harry Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Wow! It's really him!"

Harry sat down on the stool and the last thing he saw before the hat fell over his eyes was people standing up and craning their heads to get a better look at him. He was shocked when he heard a voice.

"Ahh, Mr. Potter. So nice to meet you. Now lets get you sorted. Yes, yes, I see courage and loyalty, not a bad mine either, ambition, yes, and a good thirst to prove yourself, now where to put you." Harry sat there and thought about his mother and thought 'Gryffindor, please put me in Gryffindor'. "Gryffindor eh, hmm, yes you could go there. You could go anywhere, especially Slytherin. No, still Gryffindor. Ahh, you want to follow your mother. A delight to sort, a wonderful person and a compassionate soul. Let me tell you Mr. Potter, if you wanted to be like your mum because other people admired her I would put you in Slytherin regardless. However, wanting to follow you mother because you admire her, I think that is a pretty noble thing. So, it better be GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was shouted out for all to hear. Gryffindor made the biggest noise of the night. "A quick word Mr. Potter!" the hat whispered. "Do not let house boundaries kill your friendship with Mr. Lovegood. In fact, try your hardest to break down these boundaries and unite the school, as it once was."

Harry removed the hat and walked to Gryffindor table. The Weasley twins were up and shouting "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!", the eldest Weasley shook his hand rather vigorously and the whole table was cheering for him. Harry smiled, but it was forced. He wasn't stupid; he knew all the commotion was for the Boy-Who-Lived and not just plain Harry. He looked over to Ravenclaw table. Artimus was clapping and gave him a sad smile and a thumbs up. He smiled back, a real one this time, before he sat in between Hermione and Neville and across from Lavander Brown, Parvati Patil, one half of a set of Indian twins, Ravenclaw getting her sister Padma and an Irish boy called Seamus Finnegan.

The cheering slowed down and stopped and the final four first years were sorted with Dean Thomas and Ronald Weasley joining them at Gryffindor, Liza Turpin going to Ravenclaw and finally Blaize Zabini went to Slytherin.

Albus Dumbledore stood up and regarded the hall of students before him. He beamed at the students with his arms open wide as if nothing pleased him more than seeing their happy faces.

"Welcome!" He said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" Having said that he sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered, but Harry was confused. He didn't know whether to laugh or seek professional help for the man. He looked over at the Ravenclaw table and saw that Artimus looked just as confused as he felt. He leaned behind Hermione and tapped Percy on the shoulder.

"Is he – a bit mad?" He asked uncertainly.

"Mad?" Said Percy airily. "He's a Genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs.

He piled a little bit of the food on his plate. He knew that after the way the Dursleys had fed him he couldn't keep down large amounts of food without throwing it all up and he really didn't want to spend the night throwing up.

As they ate the first years around him talked. They were discussing their heritage. He was curious that Neville had been raised by his grandmother, but didn't say anything, he figured Neville would tell people why when he was ready. He grew slightly angry when everyone chucked when Seamus told them about his parents. Didn't they realize that Seamus could have been horribly abused if his father had reacted differently? Nobody asked him, they knew about his parents and probably assumed that he had been raised in the lap of luxury ever since. There was a bit of fright when their house ghost, Nearly Headless Nick showed them just how he was nearly headless.

He looked up at the teachers' table trying to find an adult figure to trust. Raised the way he was and ignored by any adult who could've helped him, Harry had an obvious distrust in authority figures. Professor McGonagall certainly looked strict, but he could see the love and warmth in her eyes as she looked upon the Gryffindors. He even saw her looking over at Artimus with a small smile.

And then the remains of the meal disappeared and the deserts replaced it. Blocks of ice-cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding … it was almost endless. Harry helped himself to a little bit of treacle tart and some strawberries.

Harry, feeling warm and sleepy was now ready for bed. At that moment Dumbledore stood up and made some announcements, The Forbidden Forest was 'Forbidden', the caretaker had a long list of forbidden items and the third floor corridor was off limits if they didn't wish for a painful death. At first he thought it was a joke, but something about this seemed legit. Harry thought that was stupid for a number of reasons. The first was that this was a school, there shouldn't be anything here that could hurt students let alone kill them, second was that this was a school full of children. You tell a bunch of kids that they're not allowed to go somewhere and that's one of the first places that they'll go. And last, what if there were people who wanted to die here. Surely they were all capable of suffering from depression. It would be easy for someone with a suicide wish to go there to die. Still, he figured that nobody questioned the Headmaster, otherwise it wouldn't be happening.

Everybody sang the school song and then it was time for bed. Harry waved to Artimus and followed the other Gryffindor first years. When they finally reached the dormitory Harry headed to the middle of five beds next to the window. Neville took the one on his right and Seamus was on his left. Ron was on the other side of Neville next to the door and Dean was on next to Seamus.

Harry fell on his bed and was asleep within seconds. He had a brief nightmare, but he didn't remember it the next day.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed it. Again, I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written, I really have no excuse, but I don't actually have a laptop at the moment and I'm actually using my step fathers one right now. I'm saving up for one though and hopefully it won't take too long. Next chapter will see them starting their classes.<p> 


	4. The Classes

Hey, it's me. Wow I uploaded a story just over a week ago and now I'm updating this one. Amazing, hopefully I can keep this up.

And for the record I do not own Harry Potter.

The Classes

Harry walked into the hall for breakfast and sighed. He had gotten lost 5 times on the way down from Gryffindor tower. He'd walked into 2 dead ends and gone in a circle 3 times. Not as bad as Ron Weasley though. He'd been walking down a corridor and Ron had been trying to go through a locked door. Filch had turned up and accused him of trying to access the forbidden corridor. Harry had turned around and hurried back the way he came, passing by Professor Quirrel who was going in the opposite direction.

He looked over the Great Hall; it was mostly full by now as breakfast was nearly over. He saw Artimus sitting at Ravenclaw table, he waved at him and Harry waved back. He looked at Gryffindor table and saw that the only first years at the table were Hermione and Neville. He wondered how they had found their way, but then noticed that they were sitting by one of the female prefects and thought that she must have shown them the way, then he wondered why he had not thought of that. He made his way over, stopping by Professor McGonagall to receive his timetable, and sat down next to Hermione and across from Neville. He piled a small amount of food on his plate, reminding himself that he had to get used to the bigger portions, and began to eat.

"Good Morning Harry." Hermione was beaming and looked really excited for the day to start. He swallowed his mouthful before replying in kind to both of them. Then he ate the last bite and reached for his timetable. As soon as he picked it up somebody dropped into the seat next to him. He turned his head to see that Artimus had come to say hello.

"Hey Harry." He confirmed. "What's your schedule look like?" Harry unravelled his scroll and looked down it.

"I have this morning off and Transfiguration this afternoon with Ravenclaw, tomorrow is Herbology with Hufflepuff in the morning and Defence Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin in the Afternoon. Wednesday I have off and Astronomy with Ravenclaw at night. On Thursday morning I have History of Magic with Hufflepuff and Thursday afternoon I have Charms with Ravenclaw. Finally I have Potions with Slytherin on Friday morning and nothing in the afternoon. What about you?" Harry looked up at Artimus who then looked down at his own scroll.

"Let's see. I have the same time slots as you, but when you have Herbology I have History and when you have History I have Herbology. When you have Defence I have Potions and vice versa again. I have Herbology and History with Slytherin and Defence and Potions with Hufflepuff." Suddenly he looked confused. "Hang on, if we have a lesson on Wednesday night, why do we have a lesson on Thursday morning?" As he said this the prefect looked up at them.

"It's because they want you to get used to getting up early after a late night, it's going to get more common the longer you're hear. Then there's the fact that even if you had that morning off, you would most likely lose it in your third year when you start your other classes." Hermione looked interested in the prospect of extra lessons, but before she could say anything the prefect continued. "Since you guys have the morning off and so do I, do you want to tour the castle? I can show you where your classes are." They all nodded. "Good. I'm Ellie James by the way, the sixth year Gryffindor prefect along with Daniel Stanton."

They all tucked away their timetables and followed Ellie out of the hall. She took them to their classrooms, showing them the easiest way to get to each one and even pointing out shortcuts. She took them out onto the grounds to show them the owlry and Hagrid's cabin. She even showed them a nice spot under a tree by the lake. She said it was a lovely place to sit and do revision for exams during the summer.

She led them back in for dinner and after assuring herself that they could find their way to Transfiguration she left them to go eat. Artimus left to eat at Ravenclaw table after promising to meet up as they were leaving so they could head to class together. Harry, Hermione and Neville spent their dinner getting to know each other. Harry learned that the both of them were only children and that Neville never mentioned his parents. Hermione, however, announced proudly that her parents were dentists and that they were proud of her and loved and cared for her. Harry was already planning to take her aside before heading to class and explaining the meaning of tact. He needed to tell her that talking non-stop about your parents to a boy who lost his and another boy who doesn't want to talk about his is not a good idea.

As they left the hall he told Artimus and Neville to wait before pulling Hermione off to the side. She was about to protest when she realised that he wanted a serious word with her.

"Hermione you need to calm down." She was confused. She started to say something, but Harry cut her off. "I know you're a smart girl who only wants to prove you belong in this world, but people are going to think you're showing off or trying to upstage them if you keep this up. You keep telling people about how much you know, you're preaching about your parents to a boy who doesn't have any," At this she gasped and her hand flew up to her mouth, "Even this morning on our tour with Ellie you couldn't stop quoting Hogwarts: A History. You need to calm down and relax. Do you understand?" She nodded, but she looked upset.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. I just wasn't thinking. Please don't hate me. Please, it was just a silly mistake. Please …" She was almost in tears.

"Hermione, I don't hate you. If I did I wouldn't be trying to help you now, would I?" She shook her head. "Ok. Are you alright now? Will you relax?"

"I'll try Harry, but it'll be hard. I never had any friends in primary school so my books became my friends. Learning became my best friend, you know?" She snorted. "You probably don't. You were probably the most popular boy at school, right?"

"Actually, I was the most unpopular and the most bullied. To protect myself I tried not to bring attention to myself, in class, on the playground, even at home. I know it'll be hard, but I know of three people who won't give up on you and two of them are waiting for us so we can head to Transfiguration." Before she could say anything else he guided her to the others and they all headed for class. They made it in just in time and took seats near the front, with Hermione sitting next to Neville and Harry and Artimus sitting next to each other behind them.

Professor McGonagall was standing in front of her desk facing them. She gave a speech and then began guiding them through the spell, which involved turning a matchstick into a needle. 10 minutes into the lesson Ron Weasley came in and got a small dressing down from the Professor. Artimus stifled a snigger, hoping that she had not heard, but Harry swore he saw her fighting back a small smile as she glanced in their direction. Harry got the impression that while she had to appear strict and fair, she had had certain soft spots for certain students.

They returned to their spells and Hermione was the first one to get it partially done, by making her matchstick silver and pointy. She began helping Neville, who appeared to be having a great deal of trouble. Shortly afterwards both Harry and Artimus got the partial transfiguration, by helping each other and listening to Hermione's advice to Neville. By the end of the lesson they were the only ones to do so. McGonagall awarded them each 10 points and what Artimus swore was a rare smile.

Herbology the next morning was tough for most only because it was hard work. Not for Neville or Harry though. Neville it seemed had a knack for the subject, while Harry was used to doing all of the gardening for the Dursleys and felt that Herbology wasn't that much different.

Defence was a joke if only for the fact that Quirrel could hardly pronounce any English word correctly, let alone a Latin spell. Not only that, but he wouldn't tell them about any of the adventures he swore to have been on, claiming that he'd been sworn to secrecy and he freely admitted that he was terrified of a vampire that was supposedly after him. Maybe it was the Gryffindor in him, but something about Quirrel rubbed Harry the wrong way.

Astronomy was alright, but Harry was tired. Artimus had to keep poking him to keep him from falling asleep. He was somewhat grateful that History was taught by a ghost that put almost everybody to sleep. Hermione had admonished him about falling asleep in class, but later admitted that the only reason that she didn't was that she had tuned Binns out and read from the book instead.

Charms was relaxed and funny as it seemed that Professor Flitwick enjoyed a good laugh. Harry thought he must have some goblin blood in him to be so short. In fact he was so short that he had to stand on a pile of books on his desk just so he could see everyone. Bless the man's soul, but he fell off those books when he called Harry name on the register, though he never made a mention of it again.

Potions was the class that Harry dreaded. Earlier in the week Artimus had had potions and warned Harry about Professor Snape. The man seemed determined to be bitter about something and to take that bitterness out on the students of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but mostly Gryffindor. Harry waited with the other Lions and the Snakes outside the dungeon classroom. When the Professor finally let them in he followed Hermione and Neville and sat behind them and Ron took the seat next to him.

Professor Snape glared at the Gryffindor's and made his speech. Harry felt that calling them a bunch of dunderheads kind of ruined the whole thing. Just like Flitwick, Snape paused at Harry's name on the register, but not because he fell over in shock or delight, rather he sneered about Hogwarts' new celebrity. Then he began asking Harry questions that weren't in the first year textbook, he should know, he spent the whole of Wednesday reading it with Hermione and Neville after Artimus told them how foul he was. Harry could tell that Hermione knew the answers, but was restraining herself, she had probably read it in one of the books in the library. However when Harry couldn't answer the questions, Snape made him look stupid, like a fool, like he was relying on his fame to get himself through school. He deducted points when Harry told him that someone else might know the answer and then gave the answers himself.

Harry quickly got the impression that this was a man who believed only he was good enough to brew potions and everyone else would just muck it up. He didn't even explain the potion that they were making to them, he just told them that the instructions were on the bored and then he called Neville an idiot because he made a small mistake and melted the cauldron. After he sent Neville to the Hospital Wing with Seamus he rounded on Harry and accused him of not helping Neville to make himself look better and took more points. Harry wanted to defend himself, but Ron stopped him, saying that he heard Snape could get nasty. Harry left Potions wondering why Snape seemed to hate him so much.

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><p>So what do you think? Reviews please, keep them coming.<p>

And to the person who thinks I lost the edge in the last chapter, what did you think it was going to be like? Changes are like ripples, smaller at first, but bigger in time. This is a story where Harry has a different best friend, thats it. He's not going to have god like powers or the ability to take over Hogwarts. There are already changes, but the biggest changes won't become apparent until later storys.

And of course Artimus acts older than he is, he watched his mother die, I think that would leave a mark on him don't you. And he has to be more mature Luna's sake.

I think the next chapter will contain some flying, but I'm not certain yet. I'll try to update again soon.


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